FORMER chancellor Lord Lamont has suggested that the Shetland Islands could become an independent region if Scotland votes to leave the UK.

Shetland-born Lamont believes that if a majority of islanders wanted to become an autonomous region, then it should be explored if Scotland becomes an independent country.

Some locals have been advocating a change for Shetland to become a UK overseas territory which could rely on the area’s oil reserves.

The relationship would be similar to that between the Faroes and Denmark with supporters arguing that they feel independent in spirit and have more similarities with Scandinavia than Edinburgh.

Speaking on a podcast for The Shetland Times, Lamont stressed than he was still opposed to Scottish independence but said: “If a majority of Shetland islanders thought that was a sensible thing…it should be pursued if Scotland were independent.

“I think looking for a Faroese-type devolution would be a perfectly legitimate thing to ask for.

“I’m not trying to stir it up. I’m honestly answering the question as I see it. It always seemed to me to be an idea that was likely to rear its head again in the event of Scottish independence.”

Lord Lamont also said he was still firmly against a new vote on Scottish independence.

He continued: “I hope we won’t have a second referendum. You can’t just keep testing public opinion until you get the answer you want.”

The 74-year-old was born in Lerwick and was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1990 until 1993.

Lamont was made a life peer as Baron Lamont of Lerwick, of Lerwick in the Shetland Islands in 1998.